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Research

The burden of seasonal influenza disease in Australian children is substantial, especially for those with medical comorbidities including chronic cardiac, respiratory, neurological and immunosuppressive conditions. Influenza is more likely to be severe in children with comorbidities compared to previously healthy children (e.g. more frequent and longer hospitalisation, more frequent intensive care unit admission and requiring respiratory support). Direct protection against influenza by vaccination is critical for children with comorbidities and remains the most effective tool for influenza prevention.

Research

There is no consensus on how best to measure responses to interventions among children and adults with cystic fibrosis (CF). We have systematically reviewed and summarised the characteristics and measurement properties of tests and tools that have been used to capture outcomes in studies among people with CF, including their reliability, validity and responsiveness. This review is intended to guide researchers when selecting tests or tools for measuring treatment effects in CF trials. A consensus set of these tests and tools could improve consistency in how outcomes are captured and thereby facilitate comparisons and synthesis of evidence across studies.

Research

Ahead of the implementation of a COVID-19 vaccination programme, the interdisciplinary Coronavax research team developed a multicomponent mixed methods project to support successful roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine in Western Australia. This project seeks to analyse community attitudes about COVID-19 vaccination, vaccine access and information needs. We also study how government incorporates research findings into the vaccination programme.

Research

A standardised framework for selecting outcomes for evaluation in trials has been proposed by the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials working group. However, this method does not specify how to ensure that the outcomes that are selected are causally related to the disease and the health intervention being studied. Causal network diagrams may help researchers identify outcomes that are both clinically meaningful and likely to be causally dependent on the intervention, and endpoints that are, in turn, causally dependent on those outcomes.

Research

We describe contemporary antifungal use in neonates, with point-prevalence survey data from the National Antimicrobial Prescribing Survey across Australian hospitals from 2014 to 2018.

Learn more about the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases

To improve the health of the community through immunisation and prevention of infectious diseases, we are conducting clinical trials of vaccines.

The CHIP Study investigates how burn injuries in children affect their immune system.

Allergies have been on the rise in Australia over the past 20 years, with three out of every 10 babies born each year now developing a food-related

The year 2020 has been marked by possibly the greatest health challenge to face modern society. The emergence of COVID-19 as a novel human pathogen